Dealing With The Farmer's Daughter
by bodysurfer27
Summary: Requested scenes and outtakes from my Falling In Love With The Farmer's Daughter story. All in different POVs and all deleted scenes from the story.
1. Jayden POV Chapter 13

**A/N:** **I received a few reviews saying my readers wanted Jayden's POV from Falling In Love With The Farmer's Daughter Chapter 13. Ask and you shall receive :)**

 **This will be my collection of one-shots for deleted or requested scenes that did not make the final posting of FILWTFD so they will be posted here! Yay! So, expect more Jemily, more cuteness, and a whole lotta tooth-rotting fluff because we're just getting started.**

 ***If you have a request for a scene in a different POV for my lovely little AU, drop a comment or a PM and you might see it posted here.**

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ **I do not own Power Rangers, Saban, Disney, or any other platofrm that produces/creates Power Rangers. I am not benefiting from this in any way aside from bettering my writing and having a safe outlet for my creativity. And, you know, shipping my favorite PRS couple of course ;)**

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"Is Emily alright?" Ji asked from his position near the doorway to the dojo.

"I don't know. Usually Mike's the one hitting the mat." Jayden mumbled back, his eyes never wavering from Mia and Kevin's sparring match. "Kevin, don't hesitate so much. Mia, make sure to keep your fists at chin level next time." He called out, observing his teammates. "I think that panic attack messed with her head. It's probably a good thing she's with Mike."

Ji and Jayden winced in unison as Emily's head hit the stony ground for the third time. Jayden crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes shifting from Kevin and Mia to Emily and Mike across the training area. He bit his lip as something in her facial expression changed.

"Don't call me that." She snarled, her fists raising to her chest.

"Emily-" Mike cut himself off as he dodged a punch to the face.

"No!" She roared, launching herself towards him.

"Emily, stop! Em-C'mon Emily."

With a spin, the green ranger quickly regained his balance, only for her knuckles to knock the wind out of him. He stumbled back a few steps, unable to stop her from continuing her assault. His head hit the floor and she stood over him, her cold eyes glazed over.

"I hate you. I hate you. I hate you." Each repetition came with another blow to his chest.

"Emily, it's me." He wheezed, unable to catch his breath. "It's Mike. It's Mike. C'mon, Em-"

His eyes searched for a way out of this mess. Whatever Emily was going through, it wasn't about him. She raised her leg and he barely had time to grab her ankle before it connected with his ribs.

"You won't hurt me anymore! I won't let you! I'm stronger than you will ever be!" She shouted, her anger and fear blinding her to the fact Mike was not her enemy.

"Jayden, get him out of there." Ji pointed his cane at Mike, grabbing the red ranger's attention from Kevin and Mia.

Jayden took off running towards the barrel of katana swords. He paid no notice to which one he grabbed, only that he had a weapon he could use to draw the yellow ranger's attention from her panic induced fight and allow Mike to be escorted out of the training area.

"Kevin, get Mike." His sharp order stopped the blue and pink ranger's sparring match. "I'll get Emily."

"Hey..." Mike wheezed out, "Emily-" Mike gasped, struggling to breathe.

"You killed Serena! You killed mom! You killed everyone!"

She jerked her leg free, fully prepared to kick him and this time make contact. Contact that never came. Instead, Jayden attempted to strike her in the middle of her back. Emily whirled around and her forearm blocked the attack, her hazel eyes locked onto the katana. She kicked her leg up, knocking the katana out of his hands. Before Jayden could react, she knelt down and kept one hand on Mike's chest.

"You won't hurt them anymore!" She slammed her palm down on the stone, right next to Mike's head.

"Holy shit." The green ranger breathed out as the ground began to shake and tremble. The stones rocked in a way that mimicked the rise and fall of the ocean's tide. "Jayden!" He called out worriedly, his eyes constantly watching the rolling stones. His green eyes landed on Emily. Her hazel eyes stared straight into his. "Emily, stop this. Please."

"Enough!" Jayden ripped her smaller frame off of Mike. She fought against his strong grip. Her legs kicked out and she thrashed side to side.

"No!" She screamed again.

"Jayden!" Ji shouted but it was too late. Whatever symbol Emily had drawn with her fingers had already been activated.

Bright red flames erupted from the surface of Emily's skin and Jayden immediately let her go. He quickly wiped the flames off with his hands, slightly disturbed by what just happened.

"What the hell?" He muttered to himself, his eyes flickering to his arms to make sure the flames had died out. An Earth samurai having the ability to perform a symbol like that was unheard of.

More than a little upset that she used his own element against him, he caught her by the ankle and gave a hard tug. Her body jerked back in response, however her free leg kicked his hand hard enough to cause him to release her.

"Oh I don't think so." He growled, his eyes narrowed in anger. He flipped open his samuraizer and drew a red symbol. He hit it with the device and a wall of fire sprung up from the cracks in the stones.

Almost like she expected this to happen, Emily traced another symbol and launched herself through the wall of fire. She rolled to the other side unscathed, yet breathing heavily. He barely had enough time to move to stand in front of her.

Her blonde hair was slightly singed at the ends. Dirt and grime clung to her cheeks from her struggle. Her head snapped up and he wasted no time writing another symbol and activating it. She raised her hand to shield her eyes from the bright light.

A red kanji symbol glowed and contracted in the middle of her palm. She lowered her hand, took one look at it, then sent him the fiercest glare she could as the symbol began to relax her body.

"Is that really the best symbol you could do?" Her words slurred together, yet she fought through the exhaustion. "Freakin' submission would've been better than this piece of shit." She cradled her palm to her chest. She rose unsteadily to her feet. "I freakin' hate that symbol. The one symbol I hate is the one you go and freakin' mark me with." She knocked her shoulder into his roughly, though he did not budge. "And you said you were nothing like him." She laughed darkly, a sneer twisting her facial features into a grimace softly. "Just make sure to lock the door when you're done sleeping with me." She shook her head and began walking (or stumbling) towards the door of the dojo.

"Emily-" He called out, sadness breaking through his stern tone.

"Save your breath for someone who cares." She pushed the door open, her arms trembling as she used strength she didn't have left.

As soon as she was gone, his shoulders dropped and he ran a hand over his face. His hand covered his mouth and his foot kicked a stray stone.

"What just happened?" Mia asked softly from her spot by the sink.

"I don't know."

"What was that symbol you put on her?"

"Sleep. Her resistance is admirable though. Not many samurai are able to walk or talk after it's placed on them. I just needed her to relax, Mia. She was going to kill herself. Or someone else if she didn't stop." He rubbed his face again. "Her symbol power is so much stronger than mine. I don't even know if this symbol will work on her or not."

"Are you okay? Did you get burned?"

"I'm fine. Just...keep an eye on Mike." He lowered his hand then walked briskly to the door of the dojo. "And if Ji asks, tell him I'm doing research on symbols. He'll know where to find me."


	2. Negatron

**A/N:** **This update is a little different because I want to show you something. For those of you wanting/striving to be writers, you'l find this post interesting. For all of my readers, I want to show you why it took me so long to update.**

 **Writing isn't perfect. It's messy and unpredictable and super hard to do in general. Most everything I've ever updated here has been revised at least 5 times. Not this story though. This is my collection for this messy creative process.**

 **This update is my original document for Chapters 15-16. The very first draft I've ever written of those chapters. When I was writing to tell a story instead of writing for my audience. Emily and Jayden are completely OOC from the original storyline since I wanted the story to go in a different direction at the beginning. Before I got to overthinking and over critiquing my own work. Before I got too into my own head.**

 **This is real, this is raw, and this is me showing how much my writing style has changed since then. I figured you all deserve a little piece of me for sticking around this story as long as you have (well, for most of you anyway). So this is me, as a writer, being completely vulnerable to my audience. This is 14-year-old me writing to tell a story for me. Not for anyone else. Just me.**

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The rangers arrived at the city's plaza just in time to see people get blasted around all over the area. Jayden stood protectively in front of Emily, causing her to glare daggers into the back of his head.

"I'm Negatron-the most honest truth telling nighlock here." The nighlock walked up to Mike and all of a sudden the green ranger was blasted out of sight. The same thing happened to Mia and Kevin. The nighlock sauntered up to Jayden and whispered loud enough for Emily to hear. "You've got a secret. A really big secret and I know all about it." Jayden was shot straight back a good ten feet and into a wall. He groaned in pain. Emily was the only one left to take care of the nighlock. "Now, slut, I guess it's just you and me, bitch." Those comments didn't seem to faze her in the least. "Pathetic, silent are we..." He was quiet for a moment and she landed a couple good attacks on him. "You have many secrets guarding your past. I'm surprised they haven't caught up to you yet, daddy's abused little punching bag." She flew through the air and landed on the pavement not too far from Jayden. She quickly got back up and attacked again. "You are nothing but a...mere replacement." She hit the ground hard but nonetheless got back up once more. "I guess whoever falls in love with you will have to deal with your...issues." Again, she hit the ground. She demorphed and lied still before managing to shakily get on her hands and knees. "I'm drying out. You, yellow, haven't seen anything yet." Jayden quickly ran over to her side. Her breath was rapid and she was hyperventilating.

"Emily, are you okay?" He demorphed and touched her back. She flinched and her body shuddered. It was as if she couldn't hear him but her body could sense him. He got out his samuraizer and was talking to Ji. "I have no idea where the others are. Yes. No. Ji, she...fine. But she...how can I...okay." He hung up and crouched down next to her. Her pupils were dilated and she still was taking in short shallow breaths. "Emy, can you stand up for me?" He tried to get her to stand up but it was no use. She still didn't quite register his presence. He sighed and carefully picked her up bridal style.

"I-I..." She tried to speak but could still make no sound.

"Emy, its alright. You're alright. You're safe. You are safe." He whispered in her ear. He had no clue what made him say that, however, it sure calmed her down and relaxed her body. Her breathing leveled out and she could speak.

"I-I I'm sorry."

"Em, we all got hurt this time. You don't need to apologize." She nodded.

"Okay." She said in a small voice and he felt upset. Hopefully this nighlock didn't shatter her trust and confidence they've been working so hard towards.

"Em, did you see where the other three were blasted to?" She flinched and her head turned to brace herself for a slap. "Emily, I'm not going to hurt you." It was as if she never went through training. He inwardly envisioned himself destroying the nighlock in so many different ways. He gave up trying to get her to listen to him and the entire journey back to the house was in silence.

XXXXX

He set Emily on her stool and walked out of the room. Once he was in a different area far away from where she was, he screamed in frustration. When he felt calmer, he walked into Ji's study to break the news about Emily.

"Jayden. Where is she?"

"In the common room." They both silently made their way over and Jayden wanted to kick a wall. She was still sitting there, like an obedient puppy. Her eyes were transfixed on the floor and the only movement coming from her was the rise and fall of her chest. "I hope she doesn't go back to the way she was before." He whispered to his mentor.

"We won't know until she opens up again. Only time will tell at this point." They stood there in the doorway watching her. After a few minutes of heartbreaking torture, Ji excused himself from the room to try and figure out a solution to the problem they were currently facing.

"I'm sorry." She spoke quietly and he was ready to rip that nighlock to shreds with his bare hands.

"Me too, Emily, me too."

"I didn't mean to get hurt."

"I know."

"But you were hurt so I knew no matter how hurt I was, if you couldn't fight then I had to step up." She had her head down and her hair blocked him from seeing the unshed tears in her eyes.

"You don't have to protect me, you know."

"Of course I do. You're my leader, I can't let you get hurt because of me." He understood what she was trying to tell him.

"Emily, just because I am your leader, it doesn't mean you have to save me. If you were in pain, you shouldn't have protected me. You should've told me instead of getting back up and fighting more." He walked over and crouched down in front of her. He gently pushed some hair away from her face and tilted her chin up so he could see her eyes. "What hurts?"

"I'm fine." She looked away and he didn't believe her. He forced her to look at him and she felt herself crumble. One tear falling led to another and pretty soon she was sobbing into her hands. He backed away slightly, startled by her sobs. He felt awkward since this has never happened to him before. He had no idea how hurt she was but he knew he needed to find out. He gently placed his hand on her shuddering back. She collapsed under his touch.

"Em-"

"Please can I not talk about it?" He figured out that meant she wanted space and he would gladly give her as much as she needed.

"Sure." She looked up startled at his response. "I mean, if you don't feel comfortable discussing your problem with me I'm not forcing you." He chose his words carefully.

"Its just some of the nighlock's comments. The ones that blasted me on the pavement weren't protected by the suit. I demorphed because of how hard he knocked me down. It just sort of made me remember things that I thought I would never remember because I never wanted to ever again." She explained through her tears.

"Em, I had no idea. I'm so sorry."

"Its fine." She made like she was going to get up but winced.

"Are you fine?" She nodded her head but he knew better. "Where are you hurting? What's in pain?"

"I'm not in pain. I'm fine."

"Emily, maybe mentor should-"

"No, I'm fine. Really, I'm fine." She got up and her hand snuck its way over to her back. Unfortunately, he saw and his eyes focused on her hand.

"No, you're not. Why is your hand over your back then?" Her eyes widened and she knew she got caught.

"Fine. I might have one or two bruises from the pavement..."

"Let me see."

"No, they're not bad." She stood up and backed away from him. This nighlock definitely ruined any trust she had towards him.

"Okay, let me know if you need to sit out." He decided to leave it alone for now. To build up her trust towards him a little bit again was his plan. She looked relieved and her posture relaxed more.

"Alright." They both sat down on their respective stools. The other three made their way into the room.

"That, is one not so nice nighlock."

"We know Mike, Emily and I were just discussing a plan of action to take him down."

"We need to shut him up." Mia commented while falling onto her stool. Kevin sat down on his and Mike was pacing.

"I can do a symbol if one of you distracts him to shut him up." All four of Emily's teammates stared at her. She shrugged and then got up. "Just a thought." She was about to leave when she heard Jayden speak up.

"No, that could work. We could have Mike or Kevin or even Mia distract him and then you can shut him up." He mumbled and got up, pacing and talking to himself. Emily walked out of the room and Mia followed.

"Hey, are you okay?" Mia asked her quiet teammate.

"Yeah."

"You don't look okay. C'mon, lets talk." Mia dragged her into the kitchen and they both sat down at the table. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." She looked away.

"Then why can't you look at me?" Emily raised her head and opened her mouth before closing it again. "That's what I thought. Now spill."

"Fine. There's nothing to spill. Now leave me alone." She ran out of the kitchen and into the garden. Sitting down on the bench, she pulled her knees up and buried her head in them before crying.

XXXXX

"Hey, where did Emily go?" Kevin asked the other two boys in the room.

"She's kind of...upset." Mia replied as she walked back into the room.

"What did you do?"

"I just asked her what was wrong but she didn't respond so I don't know."

"Maybe I should-"

"No, I think she just needs to be alone for a while." He held his hands up in surrender.

"If you say so." He sighed and looked at his other two teammates pacing opposite of each other. Jayden was pacing forwards and backwards while Mike would go from left to right. Neither bumped into each other, which was really interesting. "Do you think Jayden could comfort her?" Mia had a curious expression on her face.

"How so?"

"Didn't she open up more to him when he was just observing her? He just watched her and she opened up. Maybe we should each try different tactics to get her to trust us more. That way-should this happen again-we would be ready."

"Oh, I see. What should we do?"

"I don't know. What are her...interests, I guess?" Kevin shrugged and Mia had a look of determination on her face.

"I got it." She raced out of the room and into the garden where she heard Emily's sobs come from. She sat down next to her yellow teammate and pulled her in for a hug. She felt relieved when Emily didn't try to move out of her embrace. "Emily." She stroked the young girl's hair. "Why are you crying?" She heard her start crying even harder into her pink teammate. "Shh. Emily, relax, please relax." Mia helped her level out her breathing. "That's good. In and out. In and out. There, all better?" Emily stopped making audible noises but tears kept falling from her eyes. She nodded and Mia hugged her once more.

"I'm sorry." She wailed into Mia's shirt.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm here for you. What happened that made you react this way?" Emily pulled away from her and Mia felt sympathy for this girl.

"The nighlock. He just brought back awful memories, that's all." Mia stared into Emily's eyes and almost cried herself.

"Can you tell me what they are?" Curiosity got the better of her. Emily went through a pros and cons list in her head and decided Mia would keep it a secret.

"Only if you promise to keep it between you and me." She was unsure about why it had to be kept a secret but nodded anyway. "It all started when I was six..."

XXXXX

Jayden finally stopped his pacing, only to realize Emily was not in the room. He almost collided with Mike but managed to avoid him and hastily left the room in search of his abused teammate and fellow ranger. He heard what sounded like voices in the garden but before he could get any closer to further his investigation, Ji pulled the red ranger back.

"She's opening up to Mia."

"What?!"

"Shh, keep your voice down. They've been talking for thirty-five minutes now."

"About what?"

"Her past. I have learned more than what I had first thought about her."

"Why didn't she tell me anything?"

"Mia reminds me of her older sister. Always there and always kind. I guess she finally feels comfortable with one other person on this team." They both leaned in to listen.

XXXXX

"...and now you know everything." Mia was speechless for a minute.

"Oh. My-how...how can people be so...so..."

"Cruel? Disgusting? I'm not really too sure myself." She laughed a sad laugh and Mia felt her heart breaking into thousands of tiny pieces.

"Have you told-"

"No. You are the only person here who knows the sad tale of my life before living in this house."

"So Jayden-"

"Doesn't have a clue." She shakily got to her feet.

"Do you have nightmares about all of this?"

"Of course. Every night. Although they are more like vivid memories. Why?"

"I probably would if I was in your position." Emily outstretched her hand and helped Mia up from the stone bench.

"Ji suggested therapy but I wanted a second opinion."

"I would so have therapy if what happened to you had ever happened to me." Emily hesitated before speaking again.

"Could you...could you come with me if I agreed to go to therapy?"

"Absolutely." Emily smiled and they both made their way into the house.

"Really?"

"Yeah, we can have a girl's day afterwards. We could go shopping and hang out. Oh its going to be so much fun!"

"Okay!" They both passed the room Ji and Jayden were in. Jayden made sure she was gone before stepping out.

"The only thing I heard was the last sentence. What hasn't she told me?" He demanded his mentor.

"Its not my place to tell."

"Obviously if she needs therapy, there's more to this than either of you are telling me. When did you ask her about going to get help? And for what?"

"She needs it. It is something I wish upon no one. What she went through is painful for her. Imagine growing up with a drunk parent Who killed the other in front of you and an older sister with cancer that probably wouldn't be able to be a ranger. Add being abused since you were six and nightmares and vivid recollections every time you close your eyes and you have what is called 'needing help'." Ji stormed off, leaving Jayden trying to process everything he just said.

XXXXX

The nighlock reappeared shortly after and the rangers decided to go with their plan. Emily was to do a symbol while the other four protected her and distracted the nighlock. She saw her opening and flung the symbol with the most power she could. Huge stones flew into the nighlock's mouth, enabling him to hurt the rangers. Emily barely had time to catch her breath before the nighlock came charging at her. She saw her teammates sprawled on the ground and knew what she had to do. She raised her sword and blocked his incoming attack. Knowing she could only hold him off for so long, she changed her sword into her personal weapon and threw it hard-directly at the nighlock. The force of her weapon caused the nighlock to explode but the battle wasn't over yet. He went mega mode forcing the rangers to do the same. Emily created the symbol again and the other four allowed her to rest a little bit. As soon as the nighlock was destroyed, the effects of the symbol power and use of adrenaline caught up to her. She demorphed and fell onto the floor of the cockpit. Jayden watched her fall and had enough time to catch her head before it hit the floor. He gently picked her up-Mike was glaring at him the entire time-and exited the zords. Once his feet touched the ground, he relaxed. He looked down at Emily's face and felt worried. Was she unconscious? He didn't know. He carefully shifted her body and she muttered something. He was relieved, she wasn't unconscious. He heard his teammates behind him.

"Where are you going?" He turned around confused.

"Home."

"No, we are going out for ice cream. As a team. Together." Mia had her hands on her hips and stared him down. He held Emily up and Mia raised her eyebrows. "And, your point is?"

"She's unconscious. Why would we take her out for ice cream?"

"She'll wake up eventually." Jayden rolled his eyes.

"I am taking her home."

"Dude, just come with. Stop being so antisocial." Jayden's eyebrows raised and he looked shocked. Mike quickly saw his mistake and took off running. Kevin followed while Mia just continued to stare him down.

"I'm not being antisocial, I'm just worried about her. I'll meet you guys there. I'll even pay."

"Jayden-"

"Please? I'm really worried about her." Mia sighed, knowing she lost this argument.

"Fine. Just this once, oh mighty leader." She did a little fake bow and ran, wanting to catch up to the other two. Emily shifted in his arms but didn't wake. He continued walking, every so often glancing down at her sleeping form. When he approached the gate, Ji was waiting for him.

"What happened?"

"She, uh," he shifted from foot to foot while staring at her. "used a little too much symbol power." Ji saw the way he brushed a stray curl out of her face.

"Take her to her room. There's no use taking her to the infirmary if she doesn't need it. She's had an emotionally draining day." Jayden nodded his head and proceeded towards the front door. Once through, he passed several rooms before stopping in front of hers. He balanced her so he could turn the handle on the door. He gently placed her under the covers and he made sure Ji wasn't coming when he gave her a delicate kiss on her forehead. He quietly walked out and closed the door. He sighed as he headed for the kitchen.

XXXXX

The last thing Emily had seen were the many colors of the explosion on the nighlock before everything went black.

 _Emily woke laying in a ball on a hard floor. The world around her was pitch black. She sat up and looked around. She carefully stood up and twirled-inspecting her surroundings. She saw a light at the end of the tunnel. She ran towards the light and saw it was coming from a television. She knelt down and flipped the switch on the side of the television. It sprang to life and she saw herself lying on the floor in a heap. She saw Serena jump in front of herself. She screamed Serena's name and tried to stop her, but it was too late, the damage had been done. She saw her older sister gasping for breath and herself get pulled up off of the floor by her hair in her father's grasp._

XXXXX

Jayden heard a scream from the kitchen. He got up from where he was sitting and bolted towards Emily's room. She was sitting up with her knees pressed against her chest and her body was shuddering and sobs escaped her lips. He stood in the doorway and sighed.

"Emily." She looked up at him and he felt his heart break. He walked over and sat down beside her. She unraveled herself from her position and let him hug her. "What's wrong?" She sniffled.

"Just a bad dream."

"What about?"

"My father." He felt his samuraizer vibrate in his back pocket. He hugged her again.

"I'll be right back." She nodded and went back to sobbing into her knees. He left the room and walked hastily until he entered the dojo. A message sign was flashing on his samuraizer. He opened it and read what Mia sent him. _Still debating where to go for ice cream. Come join us! Bring Emily if she's awake._

He responded and double checked what he wrote before sending it to her. **Okay, let me know where you three are going so I can meet you there.** He hit the send button and walked back to Emily's room. He could still hear her sobbing.

"Em, wanna go get ice cream with the team?" She lifted her head and had on a curious expression that was able to be seen through her tears.

"Why?"

"Well, I was going to join them and I figured you might like to come." He sat down beside her and threw his arm around her shoulders.

"Why?"

"Ice cream always makes nightmares go away." She laughed although it sounded more like a hiccup.

"Yeah right."

"Its true, honest."

"Uh-huh. Sure it is." He playfully rolled his eyes. He saw her give him a small smile.

"Is that a smile I see?" Her eyes widened and she stopped.

"No."

"Oh, I thought it was. You have such a pretty smile." They both froze and looked away. "I have to leave to join the team, you're welcome to join m-us. You're welcome to join us." He got up and walked out of the room. He was halfway to the front door when he heard her voice.

"I-I would like to join the team if that's alright with you." He felt relieved that she wanted to do something with them. He smiled and waved her over, letting his actions tell her his answer.

"Hurry up, then. The team can't wait for us forever." She nodded and he kept pace with her out to the gate. He pulled a set of keys from his pocket and pressed a button.

"What are you doing?" He smiled crookedly at her.

"We are going to drive there. What, did you think I would force you to walk there?" He chuckled and she looked confused.

"You have a car?"

"We all have cars. Ji thought the more transportation we had, the more we could be regular teenagers." She looked uneasy. "You wanna drive?"

"No. No, you can." He looked taken aback.

"Do you know how to drive?" She fearfully shook her head.

"I was never encouraged to get my license or my permit. I walked everywhere." He turned to her in disbelief.

"You walked everywhere?" She shrugged.

"Nothing except the city was too far to walk to." He beckoned her to follow him.

"Do you want your license?" She shrugged.

"I don't really need it, right?" He gave her a knowing look.

"I can help you so if you need it in emergencies, you'll know what to do."

"I don't think I'll need it-"

"Emily, you are getting your license." She looked defiant and had her hands on her hips with her chin held high.

"No. I'm not." His eyes narrowed then softened.

"Please? Just to ease my mind? I worry about you and I think the team does too. We just want to know if you had to, you can drive a car." She sighed and dropped her hands from her hips.

"Fine."

"Great. You start learning tomorrow." Her eyes widened in shock and she looked panicked. Before she could say a word, he walked away and opened the driver's door to his red Lamborghini.

"Wait, what?!" She stood there dumbfounded until the honking noise from his car reminded her she had to leave. She got into the car and her curls hid her face from his sight.

"You're not useless you know." His voice was gentle, shattering the silence that had been enveloping the car. Her head snapped up and her pain-filled eyes bore into his.

"What?" Her voice was merely a whisper.

"You are a...um...valuable part of this team."

"Why? Why am I so...important?" He glanced at her before turning his gaze back onto the road.

"Because you show this team how to be strong even when everything is falling apart or is taken from us. You demonstrate everything our parents abandoned...knowing the only way to accomplish something is to keep moving forward and never underestimate yourself."

"No, I don't." He pulled over to the side of the road.

"Yes. You do and you don't even realize it. This team changed when you came."

"For the wor-"

"For the better. You make us stronger." She snorted in response and shook her head.

"I haven't done a thing-no wait, I have. I've barely made any progress and I should've died years ago. This team would've...would be better without me." His hands slammed down on the wheel, his self control fading.

"No, we wouldn't. You teach us how to fight better. You never screwed up once against the nighlock. You deserve to be a part of this team. Without you...we would be done for."

"No. You could always find a replacement for me. I'm a replaceable object. I'm broken, I cannot be fixed, so throw me out and get a brand new unbroken replacement." A light bulb went off in his head. He took his hands off the steering wheel and brushed the hair out of her face. Cupping her face, he forced her to look into his eyes as he spoke softly.

"Maybe I don't want a replacement piece." Her breath caught in her throat.

"Are-are you sure you want a pathetic broken person on your team?"

"Only if that person really doesn't want to go home." She nodded and he dropped his hands, placing them back onto the wheel.

"So, I'm really not useless?"

"Or pathetic. You should never put yourself down."

"Well, after hearing it your whole life, you kind of start believing it."

"We're just going to have to change that, aren't we?" She shrugged, causing hair to cover her face once more. "C'mon Em, you need some cheering up. We are getting ice cream."

"I was never allowed to eat anything sweet. What's your favorite flavor?" He smiled.

"Chocolate."

"Huh, I always thought people preferred vanilla, since that's what people talked about at school."

"I never went to school." Her head snapped up again and a slow smile formed on her lips.

"I went until the fifth grade. Then, I couldn't go." He looked puzzled.

"Why couldn't you go?"

"Its complicated. But, I bet you were home schooled."

"Yeah."

"I go to online school." He glanced at her before pulling back onto the road.

"Really? Why not public school?"

"Just didn't really work for my schedule."

"Don't you have to pay-"

"Yeah, I pay for it. I'm currently taking twelve courses."

"Why so many?"

"I have to catch up to the others in my age bracket, and I don't mean my grade."

"Then what do you mean?" She sighed.

"They divided the school by grades per age. I should be in eleventh but I'm with the eighth and ninth graders my age...the ones that had to stay behind rather than move forward. People are my age but in lower grade levels. I'm struggling to catch up with them." He was about to comment but she figured she knew what he was going to say so she cut him off. "No, I don't need a tutor, its just hard trying to balance work, saving the world, and my father."

"Let me know if there's anything I can do to help." She gave him a small smile.

"I'll let you know. Thank you." She retreated to staring out the window with a puzzled expression.

"You're welcome." The car lapsed back into silence. The rest of the journey was in silence. They arrived and quickly got out. "So what flavor did you want?" He asked her once they stood in front of the entrance to the ice cream parlor.

"I don't know. What flavor would you get for me?" He thought about her question for a minute and his eyes scanned her body up and down.

"Maybe, strawberry...or vanilla. Definitely not mint though." She laughed and he smiled.

"Okay. So, strawberry or vanilla?"

"Strawberry." She raised her eyebrows and he raised his hands up defensively. "Its your choice though."

"No, no I think strawberry is a great choice." They walked in and got in line.

"I'll buy." He said as she was getting her wallet out of her back pocket.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, consider it a thank you for letting me know you still have a job **_AND_** are in school."

"Oh, well...please don't tell anybody."

"That depends on what job you have." Her eyes couldn't meet his gaze.

"I had to quit when I came here. Luckily, the job I had I was paid well and could manage to buy the next couple courses before I left."

"What job was it?"

"I was an assistant veterinarian as well as a sue chef to the best chef in the countryside." He looked impressed.

"Really..."

"Yep. I also worked part-time as a lifeguard at the lake and made my way up to manager status. I tutored elementary school children after school, too."

"You did all that and still made time for school?"

"I take school online. It was easy and my teachers knew/know about my problem so they were pretty flexible."

"How many hours of sleep would you get?"

"Three on average. Five if I was really lucky. Four on my birthday."

"Em, I'm so sorry." She waved off his feeble apologies.

"Don't worry about it." They ordered their flavors and sat down at a booth. The inside of the shop was like an old 50s diner type style. The booth was solid red and the table was red and white checkered.

"Coming here was probably a relief then."

"Mhmm..." She nodded. "Like a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders."

"I bet."

"I'm glad to only have one job right now. I get to sleep in for the first time in my life."

"But you know, you're not really sleeping in."

"Oh I know, but to me I am." The waitress walked up and handed them their ice cream. Once she was gone they went back to talking.

"So..." She smiled.

"So...have anything else you wanted to know?" He shook his head.

"Not anything at the moment. Give me a while to think about it and then I will." They both took a bite of their ice cream. Her eyes widened and he chuckled.

"This is amazing!"

"I'm glad you like it."

"So, how fun was being home schooled? I mean since you had to balance that and training."

"Well, it wasn't as hard as I initially imagined it would be. Mentor taught me everything by the time I was ten and in between studying was training. He did offer me to go to online school but I turned him down because after having one teacher your whole life you kind of start thinking it'll be hard to change to several teachers with different teaching methods." She nodded in agreement.

"I understand."

"Now, I wish I did go to public."

"Why?"

"Because maybe I could have had a chance to meet you." A light blush crept its way onto her cheeks.

"Oh...um..."

"But now I have and you are a wonderful teammate." She scoffed and took another bite of ice cream while rolling her eyes.

"No I'm not. I'm nothing special." He was growing impatient with trying to reason with her so he told her something he knew she would react to.

"No. You're right. Why are you even here?" She looked at him with weary truthful eyes.

"I honestly have no idea." His eyes searched her face for any deceiving emotions but couldn't find any.

"How long have you been told this?"

"Fifteen years. At least seven or eight times a day."

"And you haven't done anything about it?" It came out sharper than he intended.

"I couldn't." She felt several conflicting emotions: hurt, guilt, pain, sadness, anger, defeat. "You know what, thank you for the ice cream. I'll see you at the house." She stood up before he could utter a single word and left, her bowl of ice cream still on the table and a hurt expression on his face.

XXXXX

She ran out of the shop as quickly as she could and bolted. She ran and ran, never looking ahead and never looking back. Tears clouded her vision but she ran as they began to fall. Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, she didn't see where she was going until a hand yanked her towards its owner. She struggled to get away, thinking it was her father.

"Emily, Em," a man's voice called to her. "Dude, where's Jayden?" After realizing it was Mike, she buried her face in his chest and sobbed. He looked around worriedly then shifted from one foot to the other, feeling awkward about his current predicament. He decided to rub her back gently, in an effort to try and stop her crying but it didn't seem to be working. "What happened? Em, is something wrong?" She clung onto him tight and he was scared out of his mind. Obviously something happened to make her cry but he couldn't figure out what. Different scenarios raced through his mind, each becoming more vivid and scarier than the last. "Em, what's the matter?" She just shook her head and continued to cry into him.

"Just take me home" was her muffled response to his previous questions.

"Okay. Maybe Mentor could-"

"No, take me HOME. In the countryside. I don't deserve to be here." Her voice was barely above a whisper. He tried to pull away to see if she was serious but found she wasn't allowing him the ability to do so.

"Alright. But dude, I need to stop at the Shiba house first." Her legs wrapped themselves around his waist and he had a puzzled expression on his face. With her head still buried in his shirt, he began the long walk to the house. "Dude, you're so lucky you're light or else you would be like walking next to me." He muttered while turning around.

XXXXX

"So, what exactly happened to make her want to leave?" Ji asked as Mike entered the house wearing Emily like a backpack but on his chest rather than his back.

"Dude, I seriously have like no idea." He tried setting her down gently but she wouldn't budge. "Jayden and her got into an argument but that's all I could get out of her."

"About what?" He attempted to shrug his shoulders even though it was impossible.

"You're guess is as good as mine." Ji sighed and patted the top of her head.

"Mike, put her in her room and keep an eye on her. Tell Mia and Kevin as well, play a board game or something." Mike nodded and carefully left the room, Emily still crying into his shirt.

XXXXX

"What the hell did you do?" Ji scolded his 'son' into his samuraizer.

 _"She and I had a fight."_

"Well, duh! Obviously so or else she wouldn't be wanting to go back to her father. Jayden, you should've known better than to get into a fight with her..." He sighed.

 _"Its just...she has had the worst life imaginable and yet she is so sweet and kind...but the way her father treated her makes my blood boil and the to hear her recite the things he would repeatedly tell her. Do you know how many jobs she had? She had to keep four jobs, take school online, and deal with the man who I want to murder with my bare hands."_ Ji decided to keep quiet and let his 'son' explain everything. _"I mean, seriously, if I didn't love her I swear he would be six feet under in ten seconds or less. Anyway, can you find out what she likes? I might need to apologize for a few things...I did...without thinking..."_ Ji pressed the device farther into his ear. Did Jayden just say he loved her without realizing he said that? Ji shook his head, ridding his mind of the thought.

"O-okay. Su-sure. Let me call you back." He hung up after stammering that sentence out. He scrunched his eyes shut for a moment before doing what had been asked of him.

XXXXX

He approached Emily's door and hesitated before knocking on the door.

"Em, I'll be right back. Kev, watch her." Mia's voice could be heard from the other side of the door.

"Mia. I don't need a babysitter." He could envision Mia rolling her eyes behind the door.

"He's not. He just wants to talk to you." He heard footsteps getting closer to the door. "Mike, she doesn't want to hear another set of cheat codes for your stupid video game!" She opened the door and jumped back slightly. "Oh, Mentor, I'm so sorry. I thought you were Mike." She stepped into the hallway and closed the door.

"I see you have your hands full." She gave him an awkward laugh in response.

"Well, I've had worse in daycare but none that have wanted to die. That's a new one for me." Ji looked to his pink samurai sympathetically.

"Well, she is an extreme case of abused situations." They both heard yet another sob and a thump from behind the door.

"Its sad. I had no idea people treated their children like that." Ji patted the top of Mia's head in reassurance. "Why don't you try to help her?"

"It takes time. She is going to therapy but it just keeps bringing back awful memories from her childhood and she has never had to cope with seeing it in her mind over and over again. Whatever her and Jayden were fighting about brought back something that triggered her to react the way she is. Just don't let her leave the room unsupervised." Mia looked to her mentor with big, incredulous eyes.

"You want her to leave the room? Are you crazy?!" Ji chuckled.

"Well, its not benefiting her to stay in the room so, what can go wrong?" She shook her head but nonetheless opened the door to Emily's room. The whole room was untouched and completely organized, Emily and Kevin nowhere to be found. There was a commotion coming from down the hall and the two of them were met with Mike and Kevin struggling to hold her back from reaching the front door.

"Emily, stop. You can't-" Kevin could tell she was really resisting. "keep trying or wanting to get yourself killed."

"Maybe I should. Nobody wants me or would want me anyway. All I am is a screwed up piece of-"

"I think you should stay."

"All I will ever be is a burden. Let me leave!" She yanked her arms out of his grasp but before she could make it to the door, Mike grabbed her wrist-hard, but on accident. Her eyes widened and she froze in place. He and Kevin lead her over to her stool and helped her sit.

"Don't hurt me. I didn't mean it. Daddy please don't hit me. I'll shut up, I swear." She whispered and whimpered. Everyone understood. She was reliving bad memories. Mia walked over and crouched down so she was at eye level with her abused teammate.

"What's wrong?" She brushed a few curls from Emily's face causing the younger girl to look up in astonishment.

"I...I can't tell you." Mia held her hands in hers.

"Okay, but if you need someone to talk to, we're all here to help you." She gestured her hands and Emily's around their teammates. She helped her yellow teammate up and dropped their hands, letting the younger girl to try and sprint to her bedroom but Kevin followed to make sure she didn't escape. "Mentor, how do we help her?" For once, the elder man was at a loss for words.

"Just...be supportive and let her know you won't hurt her." His two samurai nodded and he left in search of Emily and Kevin.

XXXXX

He turned the doorknob and was met with a pair of scared hazel eyes.

"Emily, get back from the door." She obeyed Kevin like an obedient puppy. "I hate this." Kevin grumbled to himself on the way to the door.

"I would like to speak with Emily. Alone, Kevin. If you wish, you may stand in front of the door. I won't take long." Kevin sighed but left, quietly shutting the door. He addressed his gaze to Emily. "Jayden feels horrible for what he said to you."

"He's right anyway. I was just hoping that maybe he wouldn't touch this subject..." She held her hand up signaling for him to wait before speaking. "But he did and this is the first time someone has cared enough about me to want to help me and I...I-I panicked." She looked down at the floor, ashamed of herself and her behavior.

"I know you feel bad and he feels bad so why not make him feel forgiven?" She looked up confused. "I want you two to train together when he gets back. But may I ask you a few erm...random questions?" She nodded, still confused. "What is your favorite flower?"

She smiled slightly and her eyes lit up a little bit. "A yellow hibiscus. It was my mother's favorite and my sister's death flower."

"Do you like stuffed animals?"

"I was never allowed to have one."

"If you could, what animal would you like?"

"Well, I've seen movies where the boy gives the girl a teddy bear and I always wanted to be that girl. But, I must be dreaming before a guy would do that for a...messed up...me."

"Do you like chocolate?"

"No. My mom and sister were allergic to it so naturally I'm not a big fan of it. I like sour gummy worms though." He nodded.

"Alright."

"Is that the last random question?" He chuckled.

"Just one more. What kind of jewelry do you wear?" She looked to him, startled.

"Just the items I took from my mom and Serena's bedrooms before my father tore them down and used the money for more beer." He got up.

"Since my questions have answers, I shall let you relax and then training will be when he gets here." He opened the door and he and Kevin switched places. She waited to speak until he was out of sight.

"Sorry I broke down like I did. Things haven't been the best with me right now." He gave her a sympathetic glance.

"No, I get it. But the one thing I don't get is why you feel you should die."

"I have nothing to live for. What good am I when all's I am is a burden to others? I'm no good, no good at all."

"I guess we'll force a reason into you." He said with a smile.

"I will hold you to that." She attempted to smile back but all that Kevin saw was the corners of her mouth twitch slightly.

"Good."

XXXXX

Jayden was wandering around town, looking for something until his phone went off.

"Hello?"

 _"Jayden. I know you wanted me to find out some things, but I don't think they're what you wanted to hear."_

"Okay, what did you find out?" He braced himself for something unlikely but true to happen.

 _"She loves sour gummy worms, teddy bears, and yellow hibiscus flowers."_ He was puzzled.

"No...jewelry...or-or anything of the sort?"

 _"No."_ His shoulders slumped slightly and he began to frown.

"Are you sure?" He heard Ji sigh on the other end of the phone.

 _"Yes. I'm positive."_ He nodded though the older gentleman could not see him.

"Very well. I'll be home in an hour or so."

 _"Great. You'll be training with her when you return."_

"Fine. I'll see you at home."

 _"Take care of yourself and I will see you in an-"_ A crashing sound came from the other end. _"Hour."_ Ji hung up and Jayden looked around for a store that sold either teddy bears, flowers, or candy.

"This is going to be a looooong hour." He said to himself.

XXXXX


End file.
